Tire-shoe-vulcanizing apparatus.



R. ROWLEY.

TIRE SHOE VULOANIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.17, 1910.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

L a I; a L Mnaaaco: mvcui'oz WMMM ax/@ nnrran an rarniu'r orrro ROBERT nownnr, or'nnwyfonx", N. r.

'rInn-snonvn'ncamzrne Assamese.

erases To all it mag/concern. Be it known that LROBERT RowLEY, citizen--of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain.

new and useful Improvements in Tire-Shoe. Vulcan zmg Apparatus, of which the follow1'ng1s a specification, reference being. had

therein to the accompanying drawings.

This-invention is a neW -f0rn1- of apparatus for 1180111 practicing the open-cure vulcan zation method of making shoes for auto niobileand other vehicle tires setit'orth in l t w.lcy

United vStates Letters-Patent- Serial No.

and Coombers application I for 511,188. tiled August 4, 1909, and allowed DecemberBO, 1909, in'respect to that feature clencher grooves, consisting in securing andsupporting the shoe, in form, interiorly upona mandrel, and, eXte-riorly, between the toe and heel of each bead, upon bead-supports,-lea,ving the tread, sides, grooves and bead; hcels exposed; in compressively wrappinga; fibrous binder tubularly about and circumfercnti ally around the exposed tread, sideandheel surfaces of the shoe, across the mouthsolithe clencher grooves, and the ex ;posed walls ofthe bead. supportsto-hold the shoe-the mandrel and the bead supports in placeaand to hold the binder across the mouths of the-aclencherz grooves; in compressively straining the binder over the treadand side Walls of theshoe and pressing it inte -and upon the walls of the clencher grooves; and'in subjecting the shoe so suported-,-bound and con'lpressed to vulcanizingheat.

both; 5: clencher shoes and also ineclianicallyi; fastened tire-shoes is very old, and

is hown not only in! French Patent" No. 3351:0911 of 1905, but in other patents hereinafter mentioned. I here note that for some years prior to the hereinafter mentioned Patent No. 822,561, it was common practice, in repairing tire-shoes, to split a .elencher .tireshoe wheelv rim in two, circumferentially, and use it in connect1on; with a shoe-sup-' porting mandrel and Winding fabric, for

open cure wilcanization.

Specification of Letters Patent.

for supporting the carcass an Patented Dec. 2'2, 1910 Application filed rim-eh 17, 1910. ,Serial No. 549,995. r

I am aware of United States Letters- Patent N 0. 822,561; No. 901,006; No. 901,007;

No. 858,046; No. 882,341 and No. 911,152,

and disclaim all that'is shown in them. In

none of'these patents are the carcass, its

rubber covering and-inner peri heral deviceits covering inv relation to the annular mandrel, wrapped so that compression applied to the'sides of the wrapping at and near the clencher' grooves draws or stretches the exterior rubber covering upon the carcass, and holds it compressed there forthe vulcanizing operation, as in accorda ice with said method.

I am also aware that in the manufacture of tire shoes of the type shown in Jefi'erys U. S. Patents No. 614,393'and No. 615,454 of 1898, the shoes were wrapped, wrong side. out, on mandrels, and being so wrapped,

were-vulcanized by means of an open heat that is, by live steam in direct contact with the rubber.

I am also aware that in the process of making tires patented by Coles U. S. Patent No. 696,391 of 1902, the clamping margins of the shoe, after mounting the shoes on an annular mandrel or core, have been customarily clamped by and between side pressure rings (the core having an interior peripheral rib to limit the inward or clamping movement of tie rings), and the shoe left exposed from about, half-way up one side,

over the tread or crown, to about half way down the other side. These assembled side pressure or clamping rings and'shoe have thenbeen exteriorly wrapped, and the vulcanizat-ion efi'ected by, the so-called open cure :The use of-such side clamping rings has occasioned lateral shoulders extending aroundthe opposite sides ofthe tire at about the line indicated in white, below as word *1 Fisk in the cut of the Cole patent tire" shown on p 51 of Pearsons Rubber Tires and All About-Them, published at New ,York by the India Rubber Publishing Co, .1906; and these shoulders are objectionable because in their formation, while the rubber is, unvulcanized, the rubberv atthe shoulder is pushedup and loosened in its relation to the duck of the carcass, as'above explained.

The said applicatioii' 0t Rowley and Coombershows apparatus for practicing the method therein referred to, but such apparatus is unduly expensive to manufacture,

and is unduly cumbersometo, handle." Two beaQ-SQPPOrting-rings are used, fand vtheir are castings that have to be finished in a turning lathe. The mandrel is formed withan internal, annular rib; and there are a pair of side Wrapping compression annuli. By the present invention, I ehmlnate the interlor rib on the mandrel, reducing its expense and weight and making it more convenient to handle. For the two bead-sup porting rings, each requn'mg to be cast and lathe-turned, and to be separately handled in assembling for use, I substitute a transversely solid bead-support that is made in a plurality of complementary parts adapted to fit the inner wall of the mandrel, the 1nembers having outwardly extending but not clencher groove engaging flanges. This segmental, transversely solid, bead-supporting ring may be rolled accurately and therefore very economically to shape, and is very conveniently assembled with the mandrel and shoe before the wrapping-compression rings are mounted in place.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my new apparatus, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a shoe-supporting, annular mandrel with two segmental members in place within the annular mandrel and a third member out of place. Fig. 2 is a cross-.

platcs have been forced inwardly into theclencher grooves, preparatory for the open cure in vulcanizing apparatus. Fig. 4 1s a partial side elevation ofwhat is shown in,

Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the annular mandrel having, preferably, a flat bearing surface 2 around its inner periphery, midway between the outer projection of the sides of the mandrel, which, is usually more or less round or oval in cross-section.

The bead-supporting ring 3, composed of a plurality of segments butt-jointing one with the other when in place, has a preferably fiat formed portion 4 midway between its outwardly projecting edge-flanges 5, 5, said portion 4 being adapted. to fit on the bearing portions 7, 7 of the mandrel.

surface 2 of the mandrel and to form at each side of the bearing surface sharp or uniformly defined corners 6, 6 between the inner surface of the channel of the ring 3 and the lateral, outwardly extending wall It is in these corners that the correspomling edges of the clenchp'i. heads 8 of tlieshoeQ-rest during, the

open cure, and wherein the bead edges are formed. It is important that these edges should be uniformly finished, and not be. ragged or irregular. The inner wall portions 10, 10 of the channel of ring 3 are 'curved outwardly to support the correspond: ing surfaces of the tire heads 8, 8, but terinihate in line with the heels 13, 13 of the tire beads, their inner margins not inclining inwardly so as to interfere withthe ready assemblage of -the tire beads 8, 8 with the rings 3, would be the case if the flanges 5, 5 curved inwardly at their outer edges as in an otherwise similar clencher Wheelrim. The outer edges 15, 15 of the flanges 5, 5 come under the inturned wrapping-em gaging flanges 16,16 of the laterally dis-1 posed, wrap 'iing-engaging rings 17, 17, with space for the wrapping 7 between them. That is, vthe inner extension of the annular flanges 16 is suflicient to permit them to be moved inwardly against the portions of the wrapping between them and the ring surfaces 15, when the rings or plates 17 are i moved inwardly to strain the tubular, fibrous wrapping (usually wound spirally in place when damp, and self-sustaining in Wrapped positionJ tightly over the otherwise exposed surfaces of the shoe bead and sides and to force the wrapping against the walls of the clencher grooves of the shoe and thereby secure for them the same durable and eflicient open cure that is secured for'the said outward surfaces of the shoe. This is very important, in order to secure durability for the shoe and to eliminate the production of seconds; that is, imperfectly vulcanized' shoes common to those processes by which the walls of the clcncher rooves are covered by metal through Whidi the vulcanizing heat passes. The side plates or rings 17 may bemoved laterally by any con- .venient devices, and have transverse bolts 19 and keys =20 therefor. The annular flanges 16 are not arrested in their inner movement by any mechanical parts',,in orderthat-the full wrapping compressionv force exerted on the rings may be transferred through the wrapping to the elastic material of the shoe beads, which alone arrests the inward Wrappin compression movement of the side rings. once the inner faces 21- ofthe rings are preferably out of contact with the sides 22 of the bead.-supporting rings when the side rin shave been forced inwardly as far as possi le with the shoe in place. I accordingly prefer to make the latcralfianges 16 of the side-rings of a depth exceeding the thickness. 'of-the flanges, 5 of the bead-supporting-rin s plus the maxishoe, in order that the inward movement of the side rings may not be arrested in any .event otherwise than bythe material compressed. The bead-supporting ring is best mum depth of" theclenc er grooves in theout into a plurality of segments by transverse diagonal cuts '22, each' preferably slanting outwardly toward the outer periphery, so that the segments may be readily assembled end to end. Y

What I claim is 1. In open cure vulcanizing apparatus for inner extension of which is slightly greater than the outer diameter of the flanges of the bead-supporting annulus to permit the passage of wrapping material between the outer edges of the latter, and inner wall of the former, flanges; and a wrapping of fibrous material tubularly inclosing the bead-sun porting ring and the mandrel; the sides of the segmental bead-supporting ring holding the part of the wrapping in contact with it removed from the mandrel for initial engagement by the inwardly projecting flanges of the wrappingcompression rings.

2. The combination of an annular, tireshoe supporting mandrel with an interiorl fitting, transversely solid but "circumferen t'ially segmental bead-supporting ring having outwardly extending side flanges thickened at their'outer edges to form bearing surfaces for a fibrous wrapping; a pair of Wrapping compression, side rings each having an annular inner flange adapted to pass over the bearing surfacesof the flanges of thebead-supporting ring; and means for moving the side rings toward and from the sides of thebead-supporting ring. I

3. They combination of an annular tireshoe suppor 'ng mandrel with an interiorly fitting, transversely solid but circumferentially segmental bead-supporting ring, each segment having an outwardly extending.

flange; a tubular wrapping; tensioning the wrapping.

4. The combination of an annular mandrel with aninteriorly contained, circumferentially se mental, outwardly -flanged ring the segments whereof are transversely solid; a. pair, of laterally movable side rings having inwardly projecting flanges the interior exand means for tensions whereof are greater than the ex;

terior extension of the segmental ring; and means for actuating the side rings.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT ROVVLEY. \Vitnesses EDWARD E. BLAoK, F. E. NAnEs. 

